TMZ has a new story about how Zac “mysteriously” landed in Skid Row on Sunday night. Zac had a “bodyguard” with him, and a five-person fight broke out. Zac was right in the middle of it. He claimed they ended up in Skid Row because of car trouble. It sounds strange. I don’t want to think the worst, but Zac has had other “mysterious” accidents too — such as that broken jaw. I hope he’s not off the rails, but we’ll see:

Zac Efron mysteriously ended up in a very bad area of downtown L.A. just after midnight Sunday … and ended up getting violently socked in the mouth by a sketchy transient … law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We’re told cops were on patrol under the Harbor Freeway when they saw Zac and a man he identified as his bodyguard. Cops saw Zac and the other guy in a full-blown melee with at least 3 other people.

After breaking up the fight, cops questioned Zac. He told them they had run out of gas and were sitting in the car. Zac said while waiting for a tow truck they threw a bottle out the window — he never said what was in the bottle — and it smashed on the pavement near a group of transients.

Zac said the transients confronted him and the bodyguard because they believed the pair hurled the bottle at them. Zac says 2 of the transients attacked the bodyguard and when Zac got out of the car to help, he got cold cocked in the mouth. Zac said, “It was the hardest I’ve ever been hit in my life.”

You’ll recall … Zac mysteriously broke his jaw in November, saying he slipped on a pool of water in his home. Zac was in rehab twice last year for cocaine abuse.

The area where this occurred is rough. Cops are on high alert for drug deals and gangs. One source says Zac was “obviously intoxicated.”

Law enforcement tells TMZ … no one was arrested because they viewed it as “mutual combat.”.

Cops arrested no one because this was “mutual combat.” The entire situation is sketchy, but maybe Zac is telling the truth. Still … when you break down in a less than desirable part of town, you keep your windows up. You don’t leave the car for anything. I don’t really believe the “bottle” story. Zac was wise enough to get help when he ended up in trouble before, and I hope he isn’t relapsing.

Zac has been trying to shake up his career with “raunchy” roles. Here are some set photos from Townies where he dresses like a confederate soldier. He plays a frat guy! They do tasteless stuff like that.

HappyMom, you may be right, eek, I hadn’t considered that he was that far gone. I guess maybe because he looks so young and handsome in these photos, I bought the illusion that he’s still fairly healthy.

I for one didnt believe that 30 days cured a guy who according to reports was doing cole heroine, meth, any pussy on his line of sight etc, not for a second, and now a fight in Skid Row? How or why do you get a white well to do actor around there? I dont even think they go volunteer in an area THAT notoriously dangerous (unless you are Shia labeuf and practically look like a resident)

Ah shit Qwerty Look under his tag here, the one where they talk about his rehab trip in the comments someone posted an entire gawker thread where people behind the scenes randoms and friends of friends in L.A had stories , also fwiw Cdan has been talking about it for months and today revealed like 4 of his blinds from early this year and last, Lainey also just said His classy dealers must have cut him off for him to go there

His stories sound simply ridiculous. “Let’s say we ran out of gas here and that we just threw away the bottle and these thugs attacked us! They’ll believe that!”
Um, no! Skid Row is some dangerous place, don’t tell me you just drove through it!

Maybe they are trying to help behind the scenes, we wouldn’t really know one way or the other. Also, there are probably other people in his life who are closer to him and would have more of an impact (like family, his agents, etc.). He was close with those people in his teens, it is possible that they aren’t close anymore.

I don’t think this fully compares to Lohan, other than her addiction issues. Zac hasn’t been commiting crimes, he is just an addict. Lohan was hijacking cars and chasing people through the streets of LA, multiple DUIs, theft, assaulting people in nightclubs. There is quite a bit that distinguishes the two.

I agree that it seems like his people tried to cut him off, so that is why he tried to go this route.

That is the only encouraging thing in this story, that it DOES seem like he has people who are trying to help him. Hopefully this will lead to a change in strategy that will eventually be successful for him. This story makes me very sad.

You do not “accidentally” end up in Skid Row. It is well off the freeway, and there is absolutely nothing happening down there at night except for drugs and alcohol. (I used to volunteer at a clinic there. We got out before nightfall.) It’s clear he was looking for drugs. I wish someone would give him the help he needs.

I was just gonna say that – it is pretty hard to find the Skid Row area, and it is a ways from the freeway, and has a horrible reputation in So Cal for being a place folks go to buy and use drugs . . .

Nobody drives through or goes anywhere near that area of town, especially at night. You have to know where it is to wind up there. This guy is an absolute mess. I hope he gets some help, because he is way off the rails at this point.

Poor kid, I just wonder what happens with all these Disney kids because they seem to have such problems with drugs when they become adults. I hope whatever is haunting him and pushing him to the booze and drugs can be worked through. What he needs is a damn good therapist and then he can do rehab again.

Exactly. I think I should boycott Disney for this abuse of their young talents. I mean, they have to change the way they manage those children. This is not an individual case anymore, it became a pattern and the company must be accountable for that. Expecially because their target audience is children and young teens.

Yah, I’ve never been to LA odr even US but even I know you do not want to end up in Skid Row at night with an empty gas tank. I’d freaking p-ss in it if I had to just to avoid ending up there with a broken car

Worst publicist ever. Same publicist that came up with that “slipped on a puddle and broke jaw” story. Unless this is a passive aggressive attempt to embarrass him enough that he get the help he needs.

I have a hard time believing that someone with wealth would need to score drugs on skid row from homeless people. I’m sure he has a ton of connections and would be able to get it from a high profile dealer. Why would he go there knowing people could spot him there? I don’t think he is that dumb, he was really good at hiding his addiction problems – nobody even knew he was in rehab – twice! Why would he slip up with hiding it, and of all places skid row? I believe it was probably being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I have had my car break down in a bad neighborhood, i would hope my peers wouldn’t automatically denounce it to me trying to score drugs. I was taught not assume the worst about people.

This guy is a brand @Yup. His people would be able to cut off much of his supply. Not to mention he’s probably presenting himself to many in power as “clean”. There is a steady supply of drugs to Hollywood stars that’s well known…too well known to access if you want the industry to think you’re “clean”. I take no pleasure in what is most likely happening, none at all. It’s very sad.

If you had been to rehab TWICE for drugs and appeared to be intoxicated on skid row you friends may be a little suspicious.His car didn’t breakdown he ran out of gas after midnight on skid row.Zac is not some tourist who got lost in an unfamiliar city.You don’t just miss one turn and end up on skid row.

@Kim1 there are a lot of dive bars that are popular in that area. There was an article a year ago about how the area is basically going through a “gentrification” in certain areas. And maybe he likes to frequent places off the beaten path because he knows people won’t harass him. I’m just saying, its not fair to throw some one under the bus because of assumptions from probably an unreliable source. I just don’t enjoy knocking down people I don’t know – what does one gain by doubting and judging others?

I think most of the “bad assery” that is being associated with Zac is made up/manufactured by him and his team. I personally don’t think he was ever in rehab either. He has been trying very slowly to shed the squeaky clean role – the accidentally dropping a condom on the red carpet, the accidental taking of his pics on a balcony while he was naked or with his hands down his pants. All part of the plan to change his image. Zac wants to look like a bad ass and the comments from that poster points out that some people think he is now a bad ass. Viola! The plan is working. We are being played by the Hollywood image makers. IMO.

It’s not legal per say, but the courts would be even more overcrowded if they hauled in every group of guys that each got a few shots in with no serious injuries or property damage. Not the same for a shoot out because that can have consequences depending on gun laws and of course, endangers bystanders.

It’s actually a defense to battery in certain states, but there are a lot of requirements to be able to use it.

In this case, I think we’re just talking about police-speak for “it looked like a fair fight, we couldn’t tell who started it, and no one was seriously injured, so we’re just going to tell these idiots to knock it off.”

From hollywoodlife.com :
According to California state law, “mutual combat” occurs when person “A” gives person “B” a chance to stop fighting. If person “B” does not stop and continues to fight — person “A” then has a right to defend themselves.

As the saying goes “call a spade a spade”, he was looking for drugs.
If he’s down on Skid Row (even the homeless don’t want to be on SR) then that means the monied secret dealers in HW aren’t supplying him anymore. Dude is about to hit bottom.

I take my daughter and some of her friends to Little Tokyo and we pass through some of the worst streets downtown. I realize there are homeless people there that were hit by hard economic times, but when I see fancy cars trolling through downtown I know what they’re doing there, they are looking for drugs. The police are a big presence downtown, so I’m not surprised the cops got involved. Downtown LA is trying to clean up their image and a lot of fancy lofts and stores have moved in, but some streets and still really bad.

As someone from L.A., I can tell you that NO ONE ends up driving through Skid Row unless they were a) volunteering with the homeless or b) taking a surface street to Boyle Heights (or a surrounding area) for some reason (and most people avoid Skid Row at all cost so that would be unusual) or c) scoring hard, hard drugs. It’s obviously C. My guess is they’re hoping that people who aren’t familiar with the area will just think it’s a sketchy area or part of Downtown that’s being revitalized (hahaha NO) instead of a four or so block radius crawling with hookers, drug dealers, thousands of homeless people, and homeless shelters. Skid Row looks like a sci-fi wasteland in a sense.

Very sad. He needs serious help if he’s down there…..and my guess is he is on something very, very hard (e.g. heroin or meth) because I’m pretty sure he could easily score weed or coke somewhere safer. Besides his health, this kind of shit is potentially very damaging to his career (Neighbors is coming out soon, and he already had a rehab stint). The fact that his rep hasn’t denied this speaks volumes (they often ignore tabloid shit but not this sort of thing in TMZ or People).

I don’t understand how someone who is supposedly doing herion and meth and God knows what, can look so healthy. I’m sure he was down there buying drugs, but I seriously want to know how he stays looking so good, doing all that crap. Look at Lindsey Lohan…she looks rough…I hope Zac gets some help…Maybe Matthew Perry could try and get him help…they did a movie together and I know Matthew is in recovery…and seriously, if the part about him throwing the bottle out the window is true, that would piss me off. Littering is a huge pet peeve of mine…although I suppose if someone is messed up, they have no control over themselves…so young, so sad…

I hope so too. Who knows what kind of relationship they had or have, but MP has really done a lot to try to help people with addiction. It was nice to see him come out the other side of it, I hope Zac can too.

This is so sad. He seems like a talented young guy who has a good start on his career, and like so many others before him, is allowing drugs to rule his life. News like this can’t be good for his career. His parents need to get him far away from Hollywood. The thing is though, once you’ve crossed over to that dark side of drugs it’s almost impossible to go back. RDJ said he stays clean by going to therapy every week.

If Zac’s throwing glass bottles out the window, especially at homeless people, then I hope he goes broke & can’t afford bodyguards anymore to protect his disrespectful self. It’s wrong to throw bottles at or towards anybody, but especially worse in Skid Row because many homeless people sleep on those sidewalks & many don’t have proper shoes or shoes at all. They have to walk & sleep on those grounds. There are organized groups of homeless people & low-income people who try to keep Skid Row clean. You can see them wearing vests. They walk around sweeping up trash & collecting trash bins & replacing their trash bags. They don’t need rich boy jerks going to their neighborhood throwing trash at & around them.

If Zac was there to get drugs in the middle of the night, then he deserves to be hit in the mouth. I don’t think he’ll ever learn his lesson because he made his story to sound like he was the hero coming to the aid of his bodyguard. He made himself sound like the good guy. That just shows he’s not sorry about anything.

There isn’t any reason to be near skid row unless you are trying to score anonymously. Sorry, nobody just drives through skid row, or the blocks near skid row either, they aren’t on the way to or from anywhere cool taking a shortcut through skid row. He’s lying about the car part, the scoring drugs part, and people in L.A. know he’s lying but his little fan base outside of the area can believe he was innocently driving through one on the worst areas in L.A. that just happens to be an open air drug market. I don’t even think whatever movie part 4 will be available to this guy because everyone who lives in L.A. knows he’s been reduced to buying anonymously from street people. Dealers talk in L.A. and it would get around pretty quickly if he was using via dealers again. All the H’wood people use the same dealers, and everyone knows everyone. He’s an out of control drug addict now whose reputation is based on being wholesome and appealing to little girls and middle America, an addict with no signs of stopping, who’d want to hire that?

Well he needs to save money and not spend it around. Because movie star A-list career won’t happen. He will not get millions per movie. All he can score is some lead roles in That Awkward Moment which had budget 8 million. Which means that he was payed very little. And he did not get millions for that Seth Rogen comedy.

And now that drugs problem. He won’t receive invitation in big movies even for small role. He will shoot some small budget movies. And those don’t pay much. So Zac should stop living A-list life and watch out for his money.

Oh, Zac. Everyone knows you were out there trying to score drugs, it’s so painfully and sadly obvious.

At first I was a bit surprised that he was in Skid Row PERSONALLY trying to score drugs, because I would have assumed that Zac had people or connections who could do that for him – no Hollywood actor in their right mind would risk their reputation and career that way. What if they got caught, or photographed? Stupid. But then I remembered how Zac’s supposed to be sober and healthy (which I think is total bulls-t), and so it seems he’s had to go and score the drugs himself in order to hide his relapse from his people, agents, the press, etc.

I also feel sad, ok he’s priveleged and has had more opportunities than most, but I like the film choices he has made since HSM, he seems like a smart guy in that respect and has enough likeability to retain public favor if he deals with his issues openly and honestly. But he’s an addict so I guess that’s probably not happening. Sad. He doesn’t seem equipped to have a full blown RDJ gutter years phase and come back from it. The drugs these days seem to kill them young, I would hate to see it and I really hope he has some good people around him who are calling him on it.

“This B-list mostly movie actor, and one time teen idol, has been struggling for a while with a hardcore drug problem. He’s been getting into ‘street trouble’ recently, but it isn’t drug related. He’s been prostituting himself to men in order to pay for them, since his fortune has run out.” from Wine & Sass

I hope it’s not him, but it sure sounds like it. What a shame. I hope he gets some real help. Twice in rehab though and hasn’t figure it out? How much farther down can rock bottom be?

I figured the jaw was drug related but hoped not. This is definitely no matter how he tries to spin it. It’s sad. I was always impressed with how talented he was and thought he would keep moving up into better roles as he got older.